FRANKthoughts

I think the industry standard is something like 0.1% click through rate (1 in 1000 people will click on your banner). I don’t see how this can be a good return on investment. Even if 1 of 1000 click on the banner, statistics are not on your side. 90% of the people who click will stay on your site for less than 5 seconds. This is fine. You might still want to continue and spend money on them. But the thing is no one is going to talk about a banner. When was the last time someone told you about the funny banner they’ve clicked on last night? Banner will not create word of mouth and you won’t get more for your buck. Banners are not experiences and if you do decide to go for them, just remember that your dollar is not working for you. It’s sunbathing.

If you always wanted to broadcast yourself live on the web, your dream just came true. Operator11 is a new TV style application allowing users to broadcast their own shows. It even gets better – viewers can join the conversation using IM or join with their own webcams and be part of the show. Sure, at the moment most shows get an average of 5 viewers and are basically a conference call with complete strangers, but there are a few pearls out there.
Will this be the next youtube? Maybe if they’ll get a viral piece of content like Lonely Girl 15.

The good news is that we are growing. So we need new stuff for people to sit on and sit at. We use Freedom dining room tables for our desks…frosted glass on chrome legs.

I’ve just returned from my local Freedom in Chapel St, Melbourne. I explained that we had bought six tables in recent years and was after a couple more. Do you have my customer records? i ask. Because if you do then we’ll have two more of those (whatever you call them) and two more chairs, ‘manhattans’ i believe, delivered to the same address.

After some searching on their system they were able to provide me with my home address.

So entailed a walk around the store to identify the correct table, correct size (3 options) and correct chairs.

Then we went back to their system to check if in stock or two weeks wait (it was the two-weeks wait), provide delivery details, contact details etc.

So woe to go about 30 mins. I’m sure you’re ahead of me at this point.

Yes, why do they not have a small business ‘fast track’ online interface?

I could even use the term customer relationship marketing, at its most base level.

I’m sure Freedom don’t deserve to be singled out but come on guys are you so successful that the barrier to ease of purchase is so high?

Amazon finally released “kindle” - a digital book reader, allowing you to download written content in seconds including books, daily newspapers and blogs.

It’s like an ipod for books and Amazon will probably become the itunes for books - a book library.
Will it change the way people read books? will it change the way people write books? (How about releasing it by chapters like music tracks?). Kindle is not the first ebook reader but it’s getting a lot of attention. You can check it out for $399 or read what Michael Arrington from Techcrunch has to say about it.

AdNews has asked me to “mouth off” on the topic of

HOW IMPORTANT ARE RATINGS FOR INDIVIDUAL STV PROGRAMS?

Free TV last week took out a full page ad in The Australian Financial Review slamming its subscription TV rivals for not scoring any shows in the top 1000 programs of 2007. The question, however, is: should we be comparing STV to Free TV? Isn’t it all about niche audiences? Do advertisers care about individual STV program ratings?

So I said … “the approach being taken by “Free TV” (FTV) is ego-driven and lacks perspective towards the medium as a whole. To my mind STV has never sought to compete as a mass audience alternative, rather providing a mass of audiences. STV is becoming an increasingly important component for delivering TV ads in an environment of falling FTV audiences. The facts are that STV’s audience is growing largely at the expense of FTV’s audience and the opportunity, for advertisers, is to identify these audience “chunks” such as NRL in NSW and QLD and capitalize with environmentally engaging ads.

The opportunity for TV, and surely the issue, is to be collaborative. Check out thinkbox. This is an initiative which celebrates the use of tv, whether it be web tv, free or subscription. It includes information on the growth of TV, how it can work for all budgets, case studies, an ad gallery and the ‘Thinkbox TV Planning Awards.’

This kind of forum/community provides energy, innovation and perspective for one of the world’s most accepted mediums, as opposed to petty infighting. United we stand.”

This will be printed in AdNews issue 30th November 2007.

Smartcompany is a great site for people who’d like to get their business growing. It has lots of smart blogs from smart people and it’s doing a good job of letting you know about online trends like “How to build online communities“.

From their site: What is SmartCompany?: SmartCompany is a completely free news, information and resource site for Australia’s entrepreneurs and SMEs.

How it works: SmartCompany.com.au is updated around lunchtime Monday to Friday. Readers who nominate to get the free Email Alert receive an email every weekday briefing them on the latest articles, trends, tips, ideas and blogs that have been posted on the site.

Content: Every Monday to Friday, SmartCompany posts a daily news briefing, a round-up of business trends and ideas, a comprehensive start-up guide and links to SmartBlogs, SmartCompany’s handpicked network of expert bloggers. Every Tuesday and Thursday SmartCompany.com.au profiles the views of Australia’s best business experts. Exclusive content including features on big issues for SMEs, case studies, profiles as well as podcasts of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs, tax and legal updates, personal finance and businesses for sale.

Growth resources offers tools, tips and strategies to help subscribers build bigger and better businesses.

Cost: Free!

FRANk is this month’s speaker for the Inspired Media session at the Australian Center for the Moving Image, presented by the Portable Film Festival and Adobe. 6-8pm on Wednesday 28th November. We say stuff, take questions, try to provide answers and move into socialising and networking mode in the bar.
You’re most welcome

For most of you, I don’t even have to explain what facebook is.  In fact, I find it hard these days to get involved in a conversation whether it be with a close mate or a complete stranger without ‘facebook’ being brought up somehow. ”Hi… my name is John Smith, how are you?… are you on facebook?”

Admittedly I have been a late adopter however the more I get to know and discover things on facebook, the more addicted I’m becoming.  Yes, it helps me keep in touch with current friends, and I have become re-connected to people I would never imagine. Let’s face it, it’s a small world.  There is always someone who knows someone who you know – 6 degrees!

What surprised me most was when I visited the state library for the first time the other week to see Karin Catt’s portrait exhibition (which was fantastic by the way) As I walked through the main area of the library, I passed the computers and those students who I dare say should have been studying – I reckon 8 out of 10 computers were completely facebooked.  Some flickr, seek and hotmail to be seen also but facebook took the cake.
It’s no secret now that social networking sites are transforming the way people are using the internet.  Email is declining for social purposes and daily online activities are certainly becoming more consolidated.  No longer a need to jump from site to site where single sites such as facebook caters for various activities such as sharing videos, pictures and songs
For example - September 2006 to September 2007 facebook increased its ranking from 60th to 7th most visited web site, and was the number one site for photos in the United States, ahead of public sites such as Flickr
So… for those of you who haven’t clocked on to the fact that this is the way of the future, I suggest you sign up and get with the times, as facebook just may very well take over the world.

If you’re interested in social media (and who isn’t) Mashable is one of the best sources around.

From their site: With in excess of 5 million monthly pageviews, Mashable is the world’s largest blog on social networking.

What does that mean? It means sites like MySpace, Facebook, Friendster, hi5, Piczo, Bebo and YouTube.

If you’re launching a new social network, or a tool that plugs into MySpace and the rest, Mashable wants to know!

Mashable is written by Pete Cashmore, a new media expert. It ranks among the Top 100 blogs worldwide.

I was introduced to Mashable by my friend Tamir from lonely planet - Cheers mate!